Metal Plaque
original concept
This public monument concept focuses on the environmental concerns during the global Covid-19 pandemic crisis, which provided an opportunity for peoples worldwide to rethink their health at the individual level and their habitats’ long-term wellbeing. Therefore, I want to use this pandemic as an opportunity, or rather an example, to call the general public’s attention to the subject of our entire ecosystem’s sustainability. Just like how the Covid-19 virus damaged our society, human actions significantly impact the ocean’s health. Around the world, trillions of tossed one-time-used surgical masks and gloves washed ashore during this one year of pandemic symbolize our selfishness, carelessness and ignorance to the world we live in.
The statue in the centre stage resembles a hammerhead shark’s shape because the vaccine to fight with the Covid-19 will need to sacrifice vast numbers of these beautiful creatures. The shark is made from millions of latex and plastic nylon masks and gloves, which had been glued together and used acrylic resin to form the shape. The statue is fitted into a transparent glass structure as a supporting.
Designed to be installed in Nathan Phillips Square, the whole structure is 5 meters tall, which requires millions of garbage masks. Therefore, it intended to be a public campaign to call all Toronto citizens to join in this project, as this statue requires countless volunteers to collect the tossed garbage masks and gloves from streets, parks, and any other accessible open spaces.